Electronic three-dimensional models are a valuable tool in manufacturing and engineering industries, and are used in the design, engineering, and production of consumer products, industrial equipment, and many other items. However, the design, construction, and modification of electronic three-dimensional models is a tedious and time consuming process.
Prior art tools used in the design, construction, and modification of electronic three-dimensional models do not allow for intuitive input from the user. For example, designers are usually accustomed to creating drawings in a two dimensional format with pens and pencils on paper. This creative process involves the designer drawing lines, curves, and other shapes in a free hand format. The design can evolve and change by the designer drawing and redrawing portions of the drawing. As a result, the designer will frequently use multiple pen strokes to create a particular line or surface.
However, prior art devices used for the design, construction, and modification of electronic three-dimensional models use a very different process. For example, such prior art systems typically require changes to be made by identifying a point on a line, moving that point, and allowing the line to be redrawn by the software. This process requires a great deal of time and experience in order to produce smooth or complex lines and shapes. As a result, skilled users, and not the designers, are often employed to operate such machines. These skilled users and designers must work together to create and modify the three-dimensional designs over many iterations until an acceptable result is achieved. This process is time consuming and expensive.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved methods, apparatuses, and systems for sketch-based design, construction, and modification of three-dimensional geometry, particularly for methods, apparatuses, and systems which can offer a more efficient and intuitive interface. Those and other advantages of the present invention will be described in more detail hereinbelow.